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Pffff, same old song. Help please!

ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Since Saturday my DSL connection is down - I turned my laptop on in the evening and it simply didn't work... and still doesn't.
I have called Plusnet customer service and I was advised to try to change ADSL filter and if that didn't helped unscrew the socket box and plug the phone cable into the main socket - none of these worked.

Another phonecall and I was told I need to wait 24 hours for line check and so I called next day to find out that line check failed twice and now I need to wait 72 hours for technical team to asses the problem - I was told that by this time my problem should be solved, if not than the technicians will at least now the cause of it.

After three days the connection is still down and still no one called me from Plusnet. I contacted with customer service and got told that now I need to test my connection on a different router. I was advised to borrow one from a friend - unfortunately I can't think of anyone who could borrow me this device. In response to that I got told that a "test router" will be sent to me by post but that can take few weeks.
This situation is just ridiculous, I am paying my bills in time for something like that? I understand that there might be a technical issue that will require some time to deal with but after four days there is no progress and no deadline set! That is just incompetent!!! I'm seriously considering switching providers.
In the meantime please solve my problem...
There was no physical damage to any of the network components, networks works fine, connection with router can be established, phone connected to the same line works. After accessing router via webbrowser it says that DSL connection is down.
70 REPLIES 70
AlexD
Rising Star
Posts: 151
Thanks: 7
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎06-08-2014

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Hey ThereWeGoAgain,
First of all - Welcome to the forums! I'm sorry that your first post is to advise us of something that's gone wrong and hopefully we can fix this for you quickly.
Having looked at your account, it seems that a fault wasn't correctly raised. I've now asked my colleague Lee who is also part of the team to take a look at this for you in the hope that quick progress can be made.
As soon as we hear anything else, we'll be in touch on the fault ticket that was raised.
I'm really sorry that you've been let down and I'm sure we can fix this for you quickly.
Thanks!
Alex
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Alex D
 Plusnet Help Team
ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Hi Just received a reply saying that a fault has been raised with Openreach and that the estimated time of repair is 9 June.
This must be a mistake. You cannot mean to say that it takes 4 days to fix this. What happened to 24/7 helpdesk?
Could you please reschedule a visit for a sooner time.
Thanks.
dick:quote
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Hi,
The forum mods will be after you quoting the preceding post in full, but given you're new around here, I'm sure they'll be gentle about it!  Wink
A 24/7 help desk is not the same as a 24/7 fix service.  You can call PlusNet for help anytime 365 days per year (366 days next year) - you might have to wait a while for answer, but if the issue is within their capacity to fix they will.
Phone lines and infrastructure are serviced by their supplier BT Openreach - this is the same for all ISPs and CPs.  It is BTOR who have a two working day response target for line faults, not PlusNet.  PlusNet will always offer the first available appointment slot.  In some busy areas that can be later rather than sooner.
I have personally experienced next day attendance by BTOR, some have reported same day around here when the issue was reported early morning and the location had available appointments that afternoon - this does not happen often.
You are in BT Openreach's hands here - not PlusNet's.  Though this does not help get you a fix sooner, it might help your understanding of the way things are.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Hi Townman,
This is a very rational and nuanced reaction. I think you would be less rational and nuanced if you experience as much problems with your Plusnet Broadband as I do. They never call, but only post online tickets, which I cannot see because my the broadband that they supply is out. I need to phone in, and wait fro 30-45 mins only to be told to phone back, thus repeating the frustrating experience several times over.
I have gad this problem several times now and each time we go through the same routine: I do all the checks, they do all the checks, they conclude something "must be wrong", send by an engineer, who never can find anything, then they forward the issue to Openreach. If something happens six times, maybe there is pattern/recurring issue? Why not try to find this out and sort it out once an for all?
All in all, my internet has been out for weeks and it is starting to hurt my business, to say nothing of the costs I am faced for needing to by BT vouchers for wifi access.
In other words, my frustration and impatience stems from the continuous breakdown of my broadband, the disfuncional customer service and the manner in which Plusnet always seems to find a way to force others to solve Plusnet's faults.
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Hi,
Believe me I do understand your frustration.  I had a long running issue, lasting over 6 months. At that time I had the longest lasting issue with PlusNET.  I had around 18 engineer visits until finally I got a BT engineer prepared to sort the problem properly.  Thereafter I had the best speed in the area - it was somewhat rural and most of the local wires were goosed.
If there is an issue with your synch, either speed or continuity, then the issue is with BT's equipment.  Unfortunately to engage BT Maintenace, PlusNET needs to jump through BT's hoops to mitigate the possibility of you being charged for a call out.  BT will use every trick in the book to try to stick charges on the ISP / end user.  To add to that, PlusNET has to use an Indian call centre...
If you want to read an independent view on this, go read RevK's blogs over on A&A.
All that said, I sought to illuminate your 24x7 expectations, to make plain that does not actually deliver a phone line issue repair.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

I am well-aware of that. All I sought is to illuminate the ineffectiveness of the Plusnet customer service and their broadband, and that 24/7 customer service does not mean much if they aks you to call back in 72 hours, or put you on hold for 45 mins.
PeterLoftus
Pro
Posts: 2,599
Thanks: 182
Fixes: 5
Registered: ‎27-05-2011

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

If running a business I would suggest Plusnest Business service with better response times. Also a backup line from another ISP  Smiley
To do is to be - Neitzsche
To be is to do - Kant
do be do be do - Sinatra
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Using a different ISP is not going to deliver any resilience against BT failures and responsiveness, which is what is at the heart of the OP's issue.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

I suspect some of the "lack of clarity" here may be related to what can seem to be confusing "standard" Plusnet ticket responses, most of which frankly could do with rewording.
Quote from: ThereWeGoAgain
.....I have gad this problem several times now and each time we go through the same routine: I do all the checks, they do all the checks, they conclude something "must be wrong", send by an engineer, who never can find anything, then they forward the issue to Openreach. If something happens six times, maybe there is pattern/recurring issue? Why not try to find this out and sort it out once an for all?
All in all, my internet has been out for weeks and it is starting to hurt my business, to say nothing of the costs I am faced for needing to by BT vouchers for wifi access........

Whilst appreciating your frustration, Plusnet do not have engineers that they send out, they will most likely be Openreach engineers or possibly a BTWholsale engineer. I'm unclear about whether the phone line is working as you say the broadband is totally out.
Do you get dial tone? Have you tried a Quite Line Test 17070 option 2?
ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

I do not have a home phone. I explained this to the Plusnet customer support. They replied to fill out the troubleshooter as if I did have a phone and it worked.
As regards to terminology etc, I think you are right. And this is what frustrates me. I am a novice and when I speak to Plusnet they put the problem, which is no fault of mine, at my feet. I would very much like for the company that I pay for services to solve the problem, rather than relegate it to me.
I pay Plusnet for a service, if this service breaks down, I want Plusnet to be hands on and deliver a solution.
Every time I am the one who has to phone in, explain the issue, raise a ticket, phone back, prompt Plusnet. I want them to do this. I understand that a service provider, like Plusnet, is dependent on others and thus that things may go wrong, but I do not understand that if things go wrong, Plusnet is so passive and cannot resolve an issue within a reasonable time period.
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

Well not having a home phone is, I'm afraid, a big mistake that many users make because they don't realise the complexities related to good broadband. You need to be able to check that the line is working, of good quality and free of noise.
**** phone line = **** broadband.
Buy yourself a cheap corded (not cordless) one.You don't have to have it's ringer switched on or perhaps have it even plugged in most of the time, but it's still handy for those inclusive calls even if they are only the 0800/0808 ones or calls to Plusnet.
The problem is not Plusnet being passive, they do not know the cause of the poor broadband performance which can have a multitude of causes. In some cases it will be obvious eg. dead phone line, but to find that out requires a number of tests which will take time when it's so much easier for the end user to tell them "my phone line is dead and I have no broadband".
Just imagine if every broadband user with a broadband problem that was phone line related, just said to Plusnet "sort out my fault" - how much longer would it take for each customer, and so how much longer would it take to getting everyone's faults diagnosed and then fixed.
That's why the standard procedure is check the line first, check you have Dial tone, check you have no crackles and other noises, incoming and outgoing calls work OK etc. I'm surprised if the CSC agent didn't advise you should do that and borrow or buy one if you didn't have one.
The problem with a lot of line faults is that they can be intermittent so remote testing won't always pick up a problem. So much easier to get a line fault investigated and fixed when the end user can say my line keeps going dead or is very noisy on a regular but intermittent basis.
So let's take the case of an intermittent dropping broadband connection -
User makes no mention of a phone line problem. Plusnet tests show no line fault. So it must be interference causing the drops. Quick potential cure, turn on Interleaving. Oh, it's already on. So, Raise the Target Noise Margin - this reduces the susceptibility to interference, but it also means the user gets a slower speed. The problem still continues. Ah, it must be something else. More testing, still not finding any fault (because the problem is Intermittent!). Raise the Target Noise Margin some more. Problem still goes on and the user is not very happy.
Eventually someone works out that the actual problem might be an intermittent phone line fault, so they send an engineer. Engineer can't find a fault, it all works when he comes. The user can't provide any constructive information for him to work on......because they haven't got a phone.
How much easier and somewhat quicker all that would be if the end user had been able to report an intermittent phone line fault at the outset. An engineer would turn up and apart from testing (which may not show an immediate fault when intermittent) is told by the user it's not all the time but quite frequent and the line gets very noisy, so the engineer goes looking for any potentially obvious bad joints. As a precaution he remakes any that are readily accessible and/or might have some corrosion. Problem goes away.
That is the rather simple case, need I really say more.
ThereWeGoAgain
Grafter
Posts: 88
Registered: ‎05-06-2015

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

This is exactly what I mean....
How frustrating Plusnet is. You speak in theoraticals and hypotheticals. Hypothetically and theoretically you are absolutely correct, but in practice I am still left without internet.
Perhaps Plusnet should spend more time on actually trying to fix problems, rather than spending time on covering their behinds.
After all, I do not pay for theoretical elaborations on the working (or not) of broadband. I pay for working broadband!.
Please cut it out, keep your excuses to yourself and get back to providing broadband. Today is 9 June - four entire days after my internet broke down - and still not improvement.
It is a disgrace!
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

So what is the state of your phone line, is it working? Is it free of noise? Did Plusnet make an engineer appointment with you to come and fix the phone line?
Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,921
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Pffff, same old song. Help please!

It would be more helpful if you spent your time trying to help your self than complaining what PlusNET has or has not, you think they should or should not do.
Simple question which will move the problem along swiftly - do you have a dial tone on the line?  Is the phone line noisy?
If you do not have a phone, go buy one or borrow one.  It is an essential requirement for checking the state of the service.
There are numerous things which could be wrong with the line - many of them are not capable of being remotely diagnosed.  There are a number of checks which end users should do to mitigate the risk of the fault being their equipment / internal wires.  If these are not done then you expose yourself to the risk of being charged by BTOR for a no fault found call out.
Quote from: ThereWeGoAgain
How frustrating Plusnet is. You speak in theoraticals and hypotheticals. Hypothetically and theoretically you are absolutely correct, but in practice I am still left without internet.
Perhaps Plusnet should spend more time on actually trying to fix problems, rather than spending time on covering their behinds.
After all, I do not pay for theoretical elaborations on the working (or not) of broadband. I pay for working broadband!.
...
It is a disgrace!

For clarification, Anotherone is (just like you) a PlusNET customer who gives freely vast amounts of time helping others.  Please respect that.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.